No clout? The frum world put Bill De Blasio in the Mayor’s office and he has been totally responsive. For example, he prevented the Health Department from stopping metzitzah be peh, prevented the education department from investigating secular studies in yeshivot, funneled tax money to frum schools for universal pre-K, and allowed a frum funeral when no other religious group was allowed to have one.
” tuition relief which Agudas Yisroel has been pushing for 20 years”
That requires amending the NY State Constitution, and then raising taxes. The former was tried in 1967 and it lost all 62 counties. And at least the charedi part of the frum world supports Republicans who want to cut taxes, not raise them. Significantly, the 1967 effort was spearheaded by liberal Democrats allied with Sen. Robert Kennedy.
“we can’t even get our Shuls to be legally open, our sleepaway camps”
That isn’t limited to shuls and frum camps. Churches and other camps face the same restrictions. We aren’t being discriminated against here.
“I can’t issue you a passport”
I have a US passport. My wife has a US passport and a Mexican passport. I think we exist.